


and nobody told me it ended

by pseudocordelia



Series: dedue week 2020 [4]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst With A Bittersweet Ending, Crimson Flower Route, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Friends to Enemies to Friends to Lovers, M/M, Minor Felix Hugo Fraldarius/Sylvain Jose Gautier, Past Implied Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Dedue Molinaro
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-09
Updated: 2020-08-16
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:07:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22195282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pseudocordelia/pseuds/pseudocordelia
Summary: "Let's make a promise to stay friends, okay?"Ashe was planning on moving classes. Dedue thought nothing of it. Felix and Annette had done so already and little had changed.He didn't understand why Ashe insisted on being friends, considering what people said about him and his people. Deep down, though, he appreciated Ashe's stubbornness.And so Dedue nodded. "Yes. We can stay friends."(It was not a promise. Dedue could not make promises.)-Ashe deserts the Empire and saves Dedue. He doesn't know how to feel.Originally intended for Dedue Week Day 5: Reunited but it may have gotten out of control.
Relationships: Ashe Duran | Ashe Ubert & Felix Hugo Fraldarius, Ashe Duran | Ashe Ubert/Dedue Molinaro
Series: dedue week 2020 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1592887
Comments: 4
Kudos: 54





	1. you're growing tired of me

"Let's make a promise to stay friends, okay?"

Ashe was planning on moving classes. Dedue thought nothing of it. Felix and Annette had done so already and little had changed. 

He didn't understand why Ashe insisted on being friends, considering what people said about him and his people. Deep down, though, he appreciated Ashe's stubbornness.

And so Dedue nodded. "Yes. We can stay friends."

(It was not a promise. Dedue could not make promises.)

Ashe continued to approach him for cooking tips and talk to him in the greenhouse. He told Dedue about the books he was reading or the letters his siblings sent. Ashe even offered to dance with him during the ball!

(He declined, of course. As much as he would have loved to, he did not want people talking about Ashe because of him. Besides, he seemed to be having fun with Linhardt and Caspar.)

It felt different training without Ashe, but the smaller class size gave Hanneman more time to focus on the remaining Blue Lions. Dimitri would stay, so it would be okay. 

At least he thought it would be. 

-

Rodrigue Achilles Fraldarius and Ingrid Brandl Galatea were dead. 

He had been killed by his son. The man he raised from birth: his flesh and blood.

She had been killed by her former classmate. The brother of her betrothed: her childhood friend.

Their deaths were for nothing, really. Arianrhod had fallen into the enemy's hands. 

_ He died like a true knight. _ Dimitri told Dedue that those words were what caused Felix's resent towards Rodrigue. 

How very ironic that those very words were spoken at his funeral. Dimitri stood stone-faced as the eulogy was delivered, even as Count Galatea howled for his daughter.

Her coffin was empty. 

Dedue wondered if Ashe or Annette gave Ingrid and Rodrigue the honour of a proper burial. He wondered if they did anything to stop Felix. 

He had to remind himself, again and again, that they were the enemy. They were no longer his friends. Had they ever been? 

There was still a tinge of remorse. Ashe was the first friend Dedue made after his village was razed to the ground. Unfortunately, things just had to be this way. If they had to fight, if they had to kill each other, hopefully he wouldn't realise it was Ashe. 

If he turned into a beast…  _ When _ he turned into a beast, he wouldn't be able to see the enemy's faces, right?

When the day came, when Adrestrian soldiers began to march through the Tailtean plains, Dedue decided it didn't matter. The other common soldiers graciously took the stones Dedue stole. They would win.  _ They had to _ .

“You must live, Dedue,” Dimitri told him after the funeral.

Today would be his first time disobeying Dimitri’s orders.

As the enemy advanced closer, he clutched the stone in his hands. He held it tightly in front of his chest. He could feel it course through his veins.

This was it. These could be his last words.

"Your Majesty... Dedue heaved. "Please, you must fulfill your wishes. Avenge my brethren, and the late His Majesty."

"I... all this time, at your side... Lord Dimitri…" Dedue breathed heavily. He felt like he was going to gag. It was getting hard to speak. "You are my one and only…"

His one and only… what was he saying? Everything felt… blurry. 

Dedue was sleepy.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Nothing bad ever happened.

The king of Faerghus was visiting Duscur today. The king of Faerghus, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd, was visiting Dedue's village today.

The people of Duscur and the people of Faerghus were equals. In their entire history together, nothing bad ever happened. They had always been allies, and they always will be. 

His sister insisted she do his hair. They sat in front of her vanity and she weaved flowers through his hair. Flowers they had grown together as a family. Nothing bad ever happened, and so Dedue could grow his hair out. Long and straight white streaks reached over his shoulder blades. Nothing bad ever happened, and so Dedue didn't recognise the scarred face in the mirror. 

The face behind  his face the scarred face belongs to his sister. What did she look like again? She had no face: no mouth, no eyes and no nose. Was Dedue forgetting something?

He was standing in front of the king now.

Glenn Fraldarius stood behind the King. Glenn Fraldarius looked like Glenn Fraldarius: his face was not a blur and his eyes were not shifting between amber and blue. His wife did not scowl at the sight of Dedue. His wife was alive and happy, just like his younger brother and Dedue's younger sister and Dimitri's father and Dedue's father and Dimitri's stepmother and Dedue's-

He winced.

The king was touching his face. He looked into the king's _Dimitri's_ beautiful baby blue eyes… eyes?

His eye ~~ s ~~ is full of...

~~ His eye is full of platonic love. ~~

~~ His eye is full of brotherly love. ~~

~~ His eye is full of romantic love. ~~

~~ His eye is full of unconditional love. ~~

His eye is bleeding.

  
  


"Dedue?"

Dimitri grabbed his hand.

"How did you get those scars?"

Confusing.

Dedue had no scars. Nothing bad ever happened. What on earth was Dimitri talking about?

Dimitri laughed. "Of course." 

Glenn disappeared. Ingrid disappeared. 

Everything disappeared.

It was just Dedue and

this

shadow.

A meaningless void.

Dimitri. 

Dimitri grabbed his head. He's younger now. Shorter hair. He's wearing the Academy uniform. His other eye is back.

With his bare hands

~~ the King ~~

~~ His Highness ~~

Dimitri

crushes

Dedue's

skull.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Dedue gasps for air. He's cold but still feels a sweat. There's someone beside him: he blinks again and again but they’re still a blur. 

“Your Majesty?” He pants and all of sudden a finger is on his wrist. Too small to be Dimitri’s. He tries to struggle against it to no avail.

“Sorry!” a voice shrieks. The sensation of someone touching him is gone. “I was just taking your pulse…everything’s okay, alright?”

It’s not Dimitri. Dedue thinks he recognises whoever this is, though.

“Ashe?”

"Yes, it's me. Ashe. Can you see me? Are you feeling alright?”

He feels awful. His head is awfully tight and he can barely move. 

He doesn't answer.

  
“Am I a prisoner?”

“No! We’re on the same side!” Ashe lets out a sigh. “...just get some rest. I’ll tell you everything later.”

“Where is Dimitri?”

Ashe sighs again. He squeezes Dedue’s hand. “Go back to sleep.”

It's not a bad idea, really. Without thinking too much, Dedue drifts back.

-

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Would you give your life for him?**

_ He wouldn't want that.  _

"Yes **.** "

**And what if he commanded you to join him in a senseless massacre?**

_ He wouldn't want that. _

"I would do it."

**_Even a massacre of children, or the elderly, or your own comrades?_ **

_ He wouldn't want that. _

"Without hesitation."

-

He's awake again, but this time it feels less sudden. He can see better. Someone with green hair sat beside him.

"How do you feel? Does anything hurt? What do you remember?" The questions did not end. Dedue just stands up, ignoring this stranger. His legs shake as he glances around the room. It is simply furnished yet there are no windows. There's only one door.

Ashe burst through it, the tea set he carries wobbling on its tray, threatening to spill. The man following Dedue takes no notice of him. "Do you perhaps have a headache?"

"Lin!" he cries out. "Stop that!"

Ah. All of a sudden it clicks. Linhardt von Hevring. That night at Garreg Mach - the ball - it feels fresh once again.

Wasn't this man his enemy? Linhardt yawns, seemingly unguarded. "It’s for research purposes. It was my blood we gave him after all..."

"Please just leave him alone for a bit. " Ashe politely shoos him out before setting the tea set down on the bedside table. He pulls a chair across and then looks toward Dedue. "Is cinnamon still your favourite?"

Dedue is still confused by everything, but he nods and sits back on the bed. His bed, he supposes.

"I'm sorry about Linhardt," Ashe begins whilst pouring the tea. "I understand you have a lot of questions, so feel free to ask them..."

Dedue thinks. He's not a prisoner and Ashe won't tell him where Dimitri is. What else is there to know?

Can he even trust Ashe? He says they're on the same side, but...

"Where are we?" is all he asks before taking a cup from the tray. 

"We're underground. Beneath Remire Village. I guess you could say we're fugitives."

"What happened at the Tailtean plains?"

"You… you turned into a beast but Linhardt reversed it." Dedue supposes  _ how _ is a question for later. Ashe had not answered the question.

"You joined the Empire but you keep on insisting you are not my enemy. What happened at Tailtean?"

"I… I deserted. We all did. Lin, Caspar, Annette, Felix and I. Because we couldn't fight for Edelgard anymore, knowing what she's done. We tried to save as many people as we could, but..."

"...why did you join her?"

Ashe sighs. "I was scared, Dedue. Rhea was saying these awful things and the professor ran and everyone else ran so I just… I ran too. I thought I was doing the right thing."

_ You betrayed Faerghus _ . Dedue does not dare say it.  _ You betrayed me. _ He just sips his tea instead. It is a small comfort, but it is a comfort nonetheless. He doesn’t have enough else to say.

Ashe takes in a deep breath.

“Dimitri… we couldn’t save him. I’m sorry.”

He feels the cup almost snap in his grip. “Leave,” he whispers. “Please.”

  
Ashe seems surprised. He opens his mouth to speak, but instead, he stands. He leaves the tea there.

“I’m sorry…” he says again as he closes the door. “We’re having dinner at 6 if you want to join. The dining room is through the door at the end of the hallway.”

Only then does Dedue feel the rumble in his stomach.

-

They are speaking, but not of anything worthwhile. Linhardt is chastising Caspar for not using his fork. Mercedes asks Annette what she’d like for dessert. Sylvain’s trying to tell Felix a joke, but he’s ignoring him.

Dedue did not say anything. Yet Ashe still looks at him.

When he finishes, he leaves without a word. Ashe is still looking. 

His legs hurt.

-

Dedue is not awake. He wants to sleep. Yet he can hear it. He can hear them. He’s not even mad. He’s just confused. 

How did Sylvain forgive Felix? 

-

The next time he’s awake, Ashe is there. His hand is ghosting over Dedue’s. He flinches and all of a sudden the touch - it was barely a touch - is gone. Yet again, Ashe shrieks out a sorry. Dedue feels dumbfounded.

There is something new on the bedside table. Ashe somehow notices the curiosity in his eyes. “It’s a balm I had Mercie make. She said it’d help your legs.”

_ So she had forgiven the traitors as well. _ “Why?”

“We’re friends, aren’t we?”

Dedue doesn’t know. Yet again his question is unanswered, though. “There is nothing wrong with my legs.” 

“They were shaking yesterday,” Ashe frowns. “You were asleep for a long time, and I just want you to get better.”

_ A long time?  _ “What is the date?” 

“Uh, it’s the Blue Sea moon. I’d have to ask someone else for the exact date.” He hesitates before asking “...should I?” 

Dedue shook his head. “You do not have to.”

Silence lingers for a moment. Ashe stares at Dedue but then stands up, taking the balm into his hands. “...may I? I know you can’t trust me, but I really do want you to get better…”

His legs do hurt. There was no point in refusing, so Dedue nodded.   
  
It’s relaxing, feeling the heat spread over his body. He falls back into slumber again.

  
  


-

Ashe cried and cried into Dedue’s shoulder until his eyes were red. Dedue did not say anything. His own father was long dead, but if he said something, he could ruin this. Whatever their relationship was meant to be.  _ We’re friends _ Ashe insisted time and time again. Dedue felt that perhaps it was something more. But he doesn’t have many friends, anyway. 

He just patted his shoulder and listened. 

“Can I stay here tonight?” he asked when he had no more tears left to cry. Dedue just nodded. He gripped his hand so tightly that night. 

Dedue did not complain.

-

An echo. A dream - or perhaps a memory. He gets no time to think about it, though. Sylvain’s standing above his bed.

“Hey,” is all he says. He still has that casual demeanor about him. He never changed, even when Edelgard marched through Faerghus. Even now. “Felix and I are leaving tomorrow. Wanna come with?” 

Dedue sits up to meet Sylvain’s eye level. His legs don’t argue with him this time. “How did you forgive him?” is all he can think to ask. 

Sylvain sighs, placing a hand on his hip and the other on his forehead. “We made a promise,” he sighs after contemplating for a few moments. “A long time ago.”

Dedue had only made one promise in his whole life. To allow no harm to befall  _ him _ . To protect  _ him _ . To be there for  _ him _ .

He failed. Sylvain just frowns.

“Hasn’t he told you that he looked after you for months?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You really don’t know?” he lets out another sigh. “I hate to be the one to tell you, but he slept and ate in here the whole time. He’d turn you over so you didn’t get bed sores… stuff like that. He only ever left to ask Linhardt or Mercie to check on you. Or to go to the outhouse or make tea, but that’s not the point… The point is, he cares about you, Dedue. A lot.”

Dedue does not speak. Sylvain takes it as a sign to continue. “He was so happy to be reunited with you.” 

“I am not coming with you,” he says. “Please leave.”   
  
Sylvain doesn’t say anything as he walks out. Dedue tries to sleep again.   
His pillow is wet.


	2. you love me so hard

Edelgard was his classmate. She welcomed him to the Black Eagles and treated him no differently than the others. She trained and ate with him. Her axe brought down Ashe’s would-be attackers - her strength led them to victory at the Battle of the Eagle and Lion. Occasionally they would sit next to each other during lectures and even exchange notes. She was an exceptional class leader, and Ashe was glad to be in the same class as her.

They never really spoke outside of class, but Ashe still considered her his friend. That’s why he didn’t know what to do when he found out it was her underneath the mask. That’s why Rhea’s words were all the more terrifying.  
  
“Professor, kill Edelgard at once.” There was no trial. Just a demand. “She is a danger to all of Fódlan. Such a rebellious heart cannot be allowed to keep beating.”

When the professor instead turned his blade towards Rhea, even more dread filled her voice.  
  
“You are just another failure,” she scorned, looking down at Byleth - as if he were mere trash. “Your presence soils this Holy Tomb and disgraces my brethren. I will not allow one who would lend our enemies strength to wield the power of the goddess Sothis. I have passed judgement, and now I shall now rip your chest open and take back your heart myself!”

Ashe didn’t understand. What gave Rhea the right to be judge, jury and executioner? What was she even talking about? She sounded absolutely enraged. Ashe was scared, even before she became that horrifying creature. Even before he came to the academy.

  
-

Ashe did not expect anyone to be up at this time of night. Yet as he sat and read Loog and the Maiden of Wind for perhaps the thousandth time, a piece of parchment was slid under his doorway. “ _Come to my room - Linhardt.”_ was all it said.  
  
And so he did.

He did not expect Annette and Felix to be there as well. Caspar sat on the bed beside Lin, who smiled at the sight of Ashe. “So you’re all here,” Linhardt stood and began rummaging through his desk drawers. “Have you ever wondered about those mages?” was all he said before spreading several papers across his desk. 

Letters. _To my dear niece. From Volkhard von Arundel._ The names of places and people had been messily circled in red. _Monica. Flayn. Lonato. Remire. Merceus. Duscur._ Ashe didn’t know what to say. 

But Felix did. “How did you get these?” he asked, his arms crossed and his back to the wall.

Without a shred of self-awareness, Caspar puffed his chest out.  
“We stole them!” he declared. Linhardt sighed, but did not bother correcting him.  
“I found them in Hubert’s room. He always struck me as suspicious.”  
“Isn’t Hubert the kind of guy to lock his door?” Annette asked, still eyeing over the letters. 

“Not the windows.” Linhardt just shrugged. He did not elaborate. “Anyway, do what you will with this information. Don’t bother telling Edelgard, though. I have an escape plan.” 

“Aren’t you going to do anything?” Annette stomped her feet. “What they’ve done is evil!” Her hands were curled into fists. Felix sighed.

“And you call me evil…”

“Felix! This is serious!”

Linhardt sat back down, letting out a yawn. “Caspar and I are deserting at Tailtean,” he said, his voice vacant of any emotion. “I thought we could try to save as many people as possible. You ought to know, considering your friends will be there.”

-

“Linhardt, please.” Ashe was on his knees. The crest beast beside him struggled, trying to tear apart the restraints Caspar desperately held onto. It was a miracle Linhardt could even warp Dedue with the state he was in.

Tailtean burnt in the distance. Annette and Felix hadn’t come back yet. 

“It’s just a theory,” Linhardt said, voice expressionless. He was looking away from Ashe. “I can’t guarantee anything will happen. If anything, it might make the situation worse.” 

“We have to try something. I’m begging you.”

Linhardt sighed, conceding. He took an arrow from Ashe’s quiver. “Hold him down. If I die, it’s your fault. Everything I own goes to Caspar.” 

“...thanks?” Caspar moved over to hold down the crest beast’s muzzle. Ashe stood to take the other side. His jacket was covered in mud. 

Linhardt plunged the arrow into the beast’s flesh, just below the red glow. His hand followed. When he finally pulled the stone out, the beast dissolved around him. 

He hated blood.

-

When he fell onto the ground, Dedue’s heart was still beating. 

Ashe cried. 

Felix had to pull him off. 

Even then, he insisted on helping carrying Dedue. He didn’t leave his side the entire march. When they slept, he slept next to Dedue. When they reached Linhardt’s ‘hiding place’ (which he apparently found while ‘investigating’ during their school days), Ashe still spent most of his time looking after Dedue. 

Every few hours he would turn him around. Every few days he would give him a sponge bath. He even slept in this room. In the morning he’d pull Lin or Mercie in, to use magic so his health didn’t get any worse. 

“Ashe.” 

He hadn’t heard him walk in. “Hi, Felix,” he said. In turn, Felix just sighed and shoved a plate of food into his hands. 

“You have to eat.”

“I’m sorry… I forgot.” he looked down at the plate. Sweet Buns. It was nice that someone had remembered his favourites.

“Again?” Felix crossed his arms. Ashe didn’t want to answer that question. 

“Did Mercedes make these?” 

“Yes.”

“Please thank her for me.” He took a bite. It was delicious, and he really was hungry. Ashe appreciated Felix’s weird way of caring. “And thank you, Felix!”

He just groaned and began to make his way out of the room. “Look after yourself,” he said, turning back to peer his head through the doorframe. “For him, at least.”

-

Felix came by again the following day. He casually pulled a chair out and sat next to Ashe.“You can take a break, you know.”

“I know.” Truth was, he didn’t want to. Felix just scoffed before passing a plate to Ashe. 

“Oh!” he exclaimed. Fish sandwiches were another favourite of his, despite their simplicity. “Did Mercedes make these as well?”

“I did,” Felix said. “I’d have to be a fool to not know how to put stuff between bread.”

Ashe just laughed before beginning to eat. The taste was nostalgic. “My older brother and I used to make these after we went fishing.”  
“Do not compare me to him,” Felix snapped.

“Oh.” Had he overstepped? “I didn’t mean to.” 

“It’s… it’s fine.” Felix unfolded his arms. “I used to go fishing with my brother too.”

Silence lingered. Ashe didn’t know what to say. He had heard about Glenn… and he remembered when they buried Rodrigue and Ingrid.

It was a shallow grave. 

-

He doesn't need to know whether or not Dedue hates him. _I don't think he does, Ashe,_ Mercedes tells him as she practically drags him to 'his' room. _You just need to have a proper sleep. I’ll look after him tonight._

As usual, she is right. She still feels like a big sister, despite everything. The moment Ashe wakes up, he feels better. He doesn’t have to panic to check Dedue’s pulse, he can just… lie there. It’s nice. 

At least until Annette runs in, slamming the door behind her. Ashe sits up and is about to ask what’s wrong, but she shoves a letter into his hands.

 _We’re taking Ingrid and my old man back home._ It’s written in a neat but slanted hand. 

He didn’t even bother signing his name.


	3. and i still can't sleep

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for suicide mention/implied suicide of a major character. Scroll down to bottom if you need to know who. Look after yourself.

He slowly opens the door. Dedue’s sound asleep, though. Ashe thinks he’ll just leave him breakfast and go. Annette would surely understand.

As he’s about to leave, though, Dedue sits up. “Ashe,” he says. "Good morning." He gently smiles, sweet as honey.   
"...good morning, Dedue."   
Ashe sits down across from him. Dedue eats his toast in silence, as the guilt inside Ashe's chest grows.  
"Annette wanted me to ask if you saw Sylvain last night."  
Dedue looks Ashe right in the eyes. "He told me about everything."

_ Everything _ . It takes a moment to click. 

He takes a deep breath. "One time, Christophe looked after me when I was sick,' he says. "Lonato was in Fhirdiad at the time. I was bedridden. Christophe sat next to me the whole time... he changed my towels and read to me. I got better quickly, but when Lonato came home, Christophe was sick." 

In other circumstances he would laugh. The story still brought a short-lived smile to his face. Dedue just nods.

“The church never sent his body home, though." He states it bluntly. He does not let his voice falter. "That's why I stayed with Edelgard. It was the biggest mistake of my life. I still want to be friends, though, Dedue. I still care about you. A lot."  
  
Dedue is silent for a few moments as he scans Ashe's face. "It is okay to make mistakes," is all he eventually says.

Ashe pauses. He has far too many feelings; far too many emotions. He remembers Lonato telling him the same thing. He remembers the greenhouse. He remembers their promise.

Dedue gently brings a hand to Ashe's face to wipe away the tears. He is too kind, and Ashe cares about him too much. 

“I love you, Dedue.”

The words come out on their own. They had been locked away for far too long; they were bound to flood out. Dedue pauses, though. His face is almost expressionless. Ashe fears for the worst.

“Ashe…" he says slowly. "I need time to think."  
Ashe takes a deep breath. He reminds himself that this could've gone worse. He still has so much to live for. "...That's okay."

And it is. Dedue is still there. They are alive. Their hearts continue to beat. Warm blood still streams through their veins. Someday, Ashe will get an answer. Someday, they will come out of hiding. Someday, Ashe will be able to see his siblings again.

(Ashe excuses himself to clean the kitchen. Dedue insists on helping. It's just like old times.)

* * *

Dedue's legs heal. He comes out every night to eat dinner. He and Annette train their axe skills together. 

Ashe wouldn't mind having to live like this forever, if only to see Dedue's smile. His smiles are small and subtle, but slowly Ashe sees them all the more often. When they bake bread, when Annette tells an awful joke, when Ashe wishes him good night…

They're sweeter than honey. They can't last forever, though. 

* * *

It's barely been a month since Sylvain left. Linhardt comes back from a routine supply outing with his hair cut to the nape of his neck and several papers. It's dinnertime, but Linhardt is not one to wait; he scatters them across the table. 

Wanted posters, and an announcement.

"We're not dead, apparently," Linhardt sighs.“These were nailed in the middle of town square.” He, Ashe, Caspar, Annette and Mercedes are all ''wanted dead or alive'; the words are written in large, bold letters. There is no poster for Dedue.

He was already scared, and over the announcement.  


"Attention all citizens of the Empire:   
The Immaculate One has been defeated. Yet upon its death, the heart of the Ashen Demon stopped beating.Stricken with grief, the emperor took her beloved's dagger and struck herself in the chest. Since then, Volkhard von Arundel, her majesty's uncle, has taken up the position of emperor." 

The room is silent, before Annette's voice pierces the air. "We need to run," is all she says.   
Mercedes nods. "I can cut off the bottom of my skirt and make us masks."   
"But where are we going to go?" Caspar asks. Mercedes pauses for a moment to think.  
"I want to find Sylvain and Felix."  
"I'll go with you," Annette declares. Linhardt just sighs.  
"I'm sick of Fodlan. Caspar, do you want to go to Dagda?"  
"Uh… sure."

Then everyone looks at Ashe. He doesn't know what to say. Dedue puts his hand over his, though. "I want to protect Duscur," he says. "You can come with me."

In truth, Ashe wants to see his siblings. He knows they're safe; all of his earnings as a commander went straight to them. Yet he knows it isn't safe to see them. He was so selfish to run off without telling them. They know he loves them, though. They  _ have  _ to. He said so at the end of every letter. 

And so Ashe nods.

Viscount Kleiman deserves to die.

* * *

Stars peek through the treetops. Ashe can't sleep, though.

The past month has been hard. All they have is bedrolls, weapons and each other. They're not even halfway there yet. Trudging through the woods in silence has been scary.

Dedue can't sleep either. 

"Ashe?"  
"Yeah?"

There's a weird distance between them. Ashe feels safe around Dedue, but he never knows what to say. He's been waiting for an answer. 

Today is finally the day, though.

"I've been thinking about what you said…" Dedue says. He’s looking at the sky, not at Ashe. "I don't know what it's like to love, but I want to try."  
“Me… me too.” Ashe’s eyes are warm. Dedue doesn’t say anything more, but it’s okay. “Can I sleep with you? I mean, like, literally.”   
There’s a rustling sound as Dedue stands up. He doesn’t answer with words; he instead slips besides Ashe. 

Dedue is warm. 

Ashe feels like everything will be alright. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The character mentioned to commit suicide is Edelgard. It's Edelgard. (At least, Arundel wants people to think Edelgard killed herself...)
> 
> I may write more of this in the future, but for now I'd like to leave it off here. I apologize for taking a while to finish this, it was kind of irresponsible of me to let this get out of my control. Thank you for reading until the end, though.


End file.
